LIFESAVER: SWEET MEMORY

By JOANN JONES

Woman reunites with man she saved

She may have saved more than one life that day.

“Omigosh! Oh, my!” was all Pattie Vecchione Segarra could manage to say as she walked into the Struthers home of William Schwab and tearfully hugged him after not seeing him for 15 years.

After all, 25 years ago she had saved Schwab’s life — and more than likely, she had saved the lives of four children, too.

Laden with several bags holding awards from various organizations, as well as resolutions from the city of Youngstown and the state of Ohio, Segarra spoke of the September 18, 1984, accident that changed Schwab’s life forever.

Segarra, then 20 years old and on her way home from work as a respiratory therapist at Trumbull Memorial Hospital, was traveling on Midlothian Boulevard when she saw a vehicle several cars ahead of her weaving and crossing into oncoming traffic.

What really frightened her was that the car was headed for a lawn where four children were playing.

Acting on impulse, Segarra pulled her new Toyota Celica — on which she had made only two payments — around other cars and in front of Schwab’s car to stop it.

“I was going the same way he was,” she said. “I saw people honking and him weaving. I thought, ‘The guy’s having a heart attack,’ and I cut in front of his car. His car hit my front end on the driver’s side.”

According to Segarra, after she stopped Schwab’s car, she ran and pulled Schwab out of his car to perform mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

“I had just been recertified in basic lifesaving, so I knew exactly what to do,” said Segarra, who received an associate degree in respiratory therapy from YSU.

With a faint smile, she looked at the now 75-year-old Schwab and said, “You had a pulse and a faint heartbeat.”

Because those were the days before cell phones, Segarra had to run to a home to have someone call the paramedics. When they arrived, she was impatient, waiting for them to give Schwab oxygen. She learned later that they had to use paddles on him to get his heart pumping again.

“It’s those first, crucial seconds that are so important,” she said.

But for all her bravado, Segarra broke down after Schwab was taken to South Side Hospital.

“I was hysterical,” she said. “I just collapsed. I was emotionally drained. I wanted to go home, so I called my mom to come and get me.”

Later that day she went to the hospital to see how he was, and was greeted with a big hug from Schwab’s wife, Peggy.

“We were so grateful,” said Peggy Schwab, who has been married to William for 54 years. “At that point, I thought if I had him for five more years, I’d be lucky. Thanks to Pattie, I’ve had him for 25 years.”

Showing her gratitude at the time, Peggy sent Segarra a cake and flowers and arranged for her to have a day off work.

The days and months after Pattie’s heroic efforts were filled with a Channel 27 interview, a Citizen of the Year Award and recognition from the American Heart Association, the City of Youngstown and state Senator Joseph Vukovich.

“I was kind of embarrassed about it [all the attention] for about 10 years,” Segarra said. “Even at my class reunion a few years later people were talking about it.”

Schwab, who worked in the machine shop at Youngstown Sheet and Tube, quit smoking after that hospital stay but had another heart attack and a triple bypass 15 years later. He was in a coma and had to spend 140 days in the hospital.

“I had to learn to walk and talk again, but I said, ‘I’m walking out of here,’” he said.

And he did.

“He has nine lives,” said Schwab’s daughter, Denise Yoho, “but he’s burned up a few. The whole family is thankful for the 25 years since the accident.”

Those 25 years have enabled the family to travel to places such as Niagara Falls and Walt Disney World, according to Peggy.

The Schwabs have three children and two grandchildren.

Over the years, the family has shown gratitude to Segarra in many ways,

“They would send me a ‘thinking of you’ card every year,” Segarra said. “Mrs. Schwab made beautiful baby blankets for all three of my daughters — personalized with names and dates.”

Segarra, who hadn’t seen the Schwabs since her 16-year-old daughter Steph was baptized 15 years ago, left the respiratory therapy field, was in pharmaceutical sales for a while and then had a family and stayed home. Now she works at her family’s business, DJV Carpet and Supplies on South Avenue in Youngstown.

“After you,” she said with a laugh to Schwab, “it [my life] was so boring. What could I do to make it any more exciting?”

“We think of you all the time,” Schwab said to Segarra.

Would Segarra repeat her actions if she witnessed a similar situation today?

“I don’t know,” she said. “I don’t think so. I’m just a single mom. But then I look at the Schwabs and see how many people were impacted, and I’m just not sure.”